Chap. VI. PASSAGE TO OBYDOS. 235 



its situation. Although 400 miles from the sea, it is 

 accessible to vessels of heavy tonnage coming straight 

 from the Atlantic. The river has only two slight bends 

 between this port and the sea, and for five or six months 

 in the year the Amazonian trade wind blows with very 

 little interruption, so that sailing ships coming from 

 foreign countries could reach the place with little diffi- 

 culty. We ourselves had accomplished 200 miles, or 

 about half the distance from the sea, in an ill-rigged 

 vessel, in three days and a half Although the land in 

 the immediate neighbourhood is perhaps ill adapted for 

 agriculture, an immense tract of rich soil, with forest and 

 meadow land, lies on the opposite banks of the river, 

 and the Tapajos leads into the heart of the mining 

 provinces of interior Brazil. But where is the popula- 

 tion to come from to develop the resources of this 

 fine country ? At present the district within a radius 

 of twenty-five miles contains barely 6500 inhabitants ; 

 behind the town, tow^ards the interior, the country is 

 uninhabited, and jaguars roam nightly, at least in the 

 rainy season, close up to the ends of the suburban 

 streets. 



From information obtained here, I fixed upon the 

 next town, Obydos, as the best place to stay at a few 

 weeks, in order to investigate the natural productions 

 of the north side of the Lower Amazons. We started 

 at sunrise on the 10th, and being still favoured by 

 wind and weather, made a pleasant passage, reaching 

 Obydos, which is nearly fifty miles distant from San- 

 tarem, by midnight. We sailed all day close to the 

 southern shore, and found the banks here and there 



